Nope, I get nothing from VMware for writing nice things about their technology.

You run Windows and Windows Applications. You have a constant struggle with updating those apps, especially the freebie utilities that soon become hacker targets. Think this is enough complexity? Let's ratchet it up a notch.

Imagine you have a dependency problem. Some vital process requires you to use a dated version of an especially risky application.

And you're scared!

Scared of the increasing attacks to your fav tool. What's an IT analyst to do?

Download the ThinApp demonstration code. Now. Stop reading this, and fire off a browser session to get the downloads rolling. N-o-w!

You're back. You want, no, You Need the sandboxing that modern applications increasingly use as a security tool. I say increasingly because many vendors are slow to adopt sandboxing.

How's that download progressing?

With sandboxing, your utility will execute against virtual copies of important system structures like the Registry. Dependent on your set up, any evil that malware does to your application and its virtualized structures disappears, as the application reloads, using a pristine, immutable copy of the structures as a baseline.

There! All the coolness of running a virtualized PC but without the hassle of creating and maintaining so complex an image.

Over the next few weeks, let me discuss other benefits to this tool. Until then...